College Football
It is upon us! The final week of the college football regular season is coming and I couldn’t be more excited! Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a good rivalry or a surprising upset as much as the next guy but I am tired of hearing about Alabama. This weekend will of course feature the Ohio State Buckeyes versus the Michigan Wolverines a.k.a. That Team Up North.
Here are the Associated Press Top 10 teams.
1. Alabama Crimson Tide 11-0
2. Ohio State Buckeyes 10-1
3. Michigan Wolverines 10-1
4. Clemson Tigers 10-1
5. Wisconsin Badgers 9-2
6. Washington Huskies 10-1
7. Oklahoma Sooners 9-2
8. Penn State Nittany Lions 9-2
9. Colorado Buffaloes 9-2
10. Oklahoma State Cowboys 9-2
That’s right folks, four Big Ten teams in the AP Top 10! A few other notes from the last week in college football here for you; the Louisville Cardinals were upset by the Houston Cougars last Thursday by a score of 36-10. With the loss, Louisville went from No.3 in the polls to No.11. Houston jumped from unranked status to No.18. The Western Michigan Broncos remain as the only other defeated team in the FBS at 11-0. With no love from the committee because they are a MAC school, the Broncos remain at No.14 in the polls. The biggest drops in rankings from this week belong to the West Virginia Mountaineers and the Utah Utes. West Virgina fell from No.10 to No.19 after getting smashed by Oklahoma, 56-28. The Utes dropped 10 spots from No.11 to No.21 after being upset by the unranked Oregon Ducks, 30-28.
NFL
There was not a lot of shake up happening in the NFL this week. The Green Bay Packers continue to have an abysmal season, the San Francisco 49ers are still awful and no one is as terrible as the Cleveland Browns.
Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints took over the lead in passing yards this season. With 3277 yards through the air, Brees passes the Atlanta Falcons Matt Ryan who has lead the way through most of this season. On a side bar, the Saints are still not winning. Ezekiel Elliott passed Dallas Cowboys legend Tony Dorsett for most rushing yards in a rookie season in team history. Elliott also still leads the league in rushing with 1102 and is gunning for Eric Dickerson’s all-time rookie season record of 1808 yards. Julio Jones of the Falcons still leads all receivers with 1105 yards receiving.
The Falcons are still the highest scoring team in the NFL with 320 points scored. The Los Angeles Rams have the least points with 149. The Minnesota Vikings have only allowed 176 points to lead the league in fewest points allowed. On the opposite end of good defense is the 0-11 Browns, allowing a league worst 325 points this year.
The leaders in each division are as follows…
AFC
East: New England Patriots 8-2
North: Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers 5-5
South: Houston Texans 6-3
West: Oakland Raiders 7-2
NFC
East: Dallas Cowboys 9-1
North: Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings 6-4
South: Atlanta Falcons 6-4
West: Seattle Seahawks 7-2-1
NBA
I will start my basketball section by saying that Russell Westbrook is a freak. He is carrying a depleted Oklahoma City Thunder team just like he needs to do. He is now only the second player in NBA history to score 13000 points, dish out 4500 assists and grab 3400 rebounds in the first 600 games of his career. The only other player to do so is one of the greatest players of all-time, Oscar Robertson. Oh yeah, he also leads the NBA in triple-doubles this season with four in just 14 games.
Onward to some stats; Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans leads the league in scoring with 31.7 PPG and is tops in blocks with 3.0 per game. Miami Heat big man Hassan Whiteside is pulling down 16.2 rebounds per game to sit atop the NBA. James Harden of the Houston Rockets is dishing out 12.5 assists per game. Los Angeles Clippers point gaurd Chris Paul is the top thief in the NBA with 3.0 steals per game. Unlikely stud Cody Zeller of the Charlotte Hornets has the best field goal percentage with 62.3 percent . Nick Young of the Lakers finally missed a free throw or two and leads the league at 96.8 percent. Minnesota Timberwolves’ young star, Andrew Wiggins, sits atop the NBA with a 48.9 three-point field goal percentage.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic Division: Toronto Raptors 8-5
Central Division: Cleveland Cavaliers 10-2 (best record in the East)
Southeast Division: Atlanta Hawks 9-4
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Northwest Division: Oklahoma City Thunder 8-6
Pacific Division: Los Angeles Clippers 12-2 (best record in the West and the NBA)
Southwest Division: San Antonio Spurs 10-3
